Pot producer Canopy Growth’s loss bigger than expected

Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO), (CGC.N) on Friday reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss as its recreational cannabis business lost market share due to delayed product launches and the company abandoned a profitability target. Its U.S.-listed and Canadian shares ended down about 21% as the company withdrew its forecast of becoming EBITDA positive by the end of fiscal 2022 due to the coronavirus crisis.

However, Chief Executive Officer David Klein told Reuters late on Friday the company will update its financial outlook in the second half of its fiscal year once more work is done on resetting its product lineup, footprint and general strategy.

Canopy is in the middle of a restructuring program that has included divestitures and layoffs aimed at turning profitable, and Klein said the company has absorbed most of the charges.

The reported fourth-quarter included C$743 million ($539 million) in charges, pushing net loss attributable to Canopy to C$1.30 billion.

Excluding the charges, Canopy reported C$1.55 per share loss, much bigger than analysts’ average estimate of C$0.59, according to Refinitiv data.

The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to give cannabis companies a boost as customers stockpiled ahead of lockdowns. [Read more at Reuters]